This blog will follow Charlotte School of Law's activities in Africa

Laurel Maynard is a 2L at Charlotte School of Law. Laurel graduated from Concord University in 2007 with a degree in Communications/ Public Relations and minor in Pre-Law. This is Laurel’s first trip to Africa and she is most excited about meeting and working with the children (and any animal she meets along the way). Her paper topic is a comparative analysis of corporal punishment in the educational setting which remains legal in both Ghana and North Carolina, United States despite modern changes.

Last summer, Laurel completed an internship with the U.S. Department of Justice in the Western District of Virginia. This semester she interned with Legal Services of Southern Piedmont in the Family Benefits department and worked as a first responder advocate to victims of domestic violence at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. Her legal interests are in criminal and family law.

Theron Solomon

Elisa Jarrin

Jessica Davis

Jessica Davis is a 3L at Charlotte School of Law (CSL). She was born Evanston, IL and raised in Atlanta, GA. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) from Johnson C. Smith University. At CSL she has been active in Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity as well as with the Black Law Students Association where she has held the position of Community Service Chair, President and Regional Director of Membership. She is currently a student ambassador for the CSL Admissions Department, student leader for the Self-Serve Center’s Divorce & Custody Clinics held at CSL as well as the lead instructor for CSL’s Street Law Program.

Jessica has clerked for The Honorable Rickye McKoy-Mitchell, The Honorable Karen Eady-Williams, and is currently an extern at the Mecklenburg County Public Defender’s Office. Due to her strong passion for children’s rights and juvenile law, Jessica is also a trained and active Guardian ad Litem volunteer. She is excited about graduating in May and even more excited about her first trip to Africa! Her paper topic is: “Access to Justice: A Comparative Look at Legal Representation Among Juveniles in Ghana & the United States”.

Yolanda Chitohwa

Yolanda, a 2L at CSL, was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in Winnipeg, MB, Canada. She completed her undergraduate degree in 2010 in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations at Carleton University in Ottawa, ON Canada.Her topic for this comparative law class is comparing child labor laws in Ghana and the United States while focusing on child labor on the cocoa farms in Ghana.

Yolanda loves to travel and has been lucky to have had the opportunity to travel to many countries over the last few years. Last summer she spent 2 months in Brazil studying human rights conditions and environmental law issues in the country and how they were perpetuated due to the country’s preparation of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics that the country will host. Yolanda would eventually like to work in human rights and international law for United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees.

Julia Goff

Shanae Auguste

Neil Stanifer

Candice Devaul

Jeffery Walker

2011

Ashley Haake

Amber Holt

Allison Cooley

Allison Cooley is a current 3L at Charlotte School of Law. She is a member of Delta Theta Phi and the Public Interest Society. Allison graduated from Loyola University- New Orleans in 2007 with a degree in Political Science. This is Allison’s first time in Africa working on international children’s rights. Her paper topic for this trip is a comparison of the American Federal Government’s treatment of Indian child welfare issues through ICWA to the Tanzanian Government’s treatment of Maasai children welfare issues using the recent Law of the Child Act passed in 2009.

Currently, in Charlotte, Allison is externing with the United Family Services Legal Representation Project. Under supervision, she represents victims of domestic violence in obtaining protection orders. Her interests include: international children’s right, child welfare, women’s rights, family law and non-profits.

Allison plans to move to Nashville after graduation and take both the Tennessee and Georgia Bar Exams.

2009

Carol Fletcher

Carol Fletcher is a rising 3L at Charlotte School of Law. She is a member of the Charlotte Law Review and Phi Delta Phi. Carol graduated summa cum laude from North Carolina State University in 2007 with a degree in social work. Her professional experience includes working for a local international adoption agency as social worker. While working in adoption, Carol had the opportunity to travel to Ethiopia and participate in the foreign side of international adoption. Through this experience, Carol fell in love with Africa, its people and the millions of orphans who call it home.

Carol recently completed her second summer at Horn, Pack and Brown in Shelby, NC as a law clerk in family law. Her professional interests include: international children’s issues, child welfare, adoption and family law.